Sunday Play

I love to listen to my children play on Sunday afternoons.  Most of the time they get along really well and will play together.  They have Kids' Club meetings, play school, play board games, and use their imaginations.

One game that I enjoy is when they tie their belts around a stuffed animal's head like a leash and walk them all around the house.  They play with their animals and pretend they are real pets.  They even get out small pieces of crackers and water bowls to feed them.

One afternoon, the boys were playing with Legoes and the girls were playing together while I was blogging.  Kate and Carlee each had their American Girl dolls in a stroller with purses on their shoulders, pretend phones to their ears, and my high heels on.  I was secretly listening to their conversation . . .

K:  "Let's meet at the Armadillo Restaurant by the Eiffel Tower.  You will love the crepes in Paris!"
C:  "OK.  Just text me and I'll come."
(They arrive at the "restaurant" (dining room table) and start their meal.)
C:  "I had all my babies at the same time."
K:  "Wow!  That was fast!"
C:  "Yeah, I was so fat I couldn't even make dinner!"
K:  "They are so cute."
C:  "I know."
K:  "Did you know our husbands work together?"
C:  "Yes, I know that."
K:  "Chad came home from work and said that he had talked to . . . what's your husband's name again?"
C:  "Matt."
K:  "Oh, ya.  Chad said that he talked to Matt and they are friends at work."
C:  "That's funny."

Yes, that is funny.  I was laughing so hard.  I love moments like this.  They make me so happy.

Back to School

The kids headed back to school on August 29.  We were all pretty excited.  We love gearing up for the new year by getting new clothes, buying and organizing new school supplies, seeing old friends and making new ones, and learning from new teachers.

Clark started middle school this year and was more concerned about riding the bus than any of his 6 classes or teachers.  He was worried he would get on the wrong bus or miss it after school due to getting things from his locker.  But the worst part is that he doesn't have a cell phone to call me!  He is, after all, the only 6th grader in the whole world without one.  He really needs a phone, just in case he misses the bus!  No one goes to the office anymore to call their moms.  And apparently it's not cool to ask anyone walking by to borrow theirs. 

The bus driver was wondering why I was taking pictures but luckily I wasn't the only nerdy mom.  Several other parents were taking pictures too and waiting on the sidewalk to see their kids get on the bus.  Clark is standing on the curb and is still a head shorter than the rest of the kids.  He is really hoping for a growth spurt this year.

Katelyn entered 4th grade and is thrilled to be in a class with a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Montgomery, and two of her best friends, Mia and Aspen.  They also split the day with another teacher and two of her other best friends are in that one, Sara and Audrey.  I hope that she doesn't get into trouble gabbing with all of her BFF's.

 

Jake is in 2nd grade with half of our ward that is his age.  His best friend, Cole, is in his class and his teacher is Mrs. Evans.  We know her from teaching Kindergarten at our first Las Vegas elementary school and we adore her.  Jake also has some fun girls in his class that are his friends.

Jake and Kirsten are in the same Primary and school class.  Jake used to crush on her but he has moved on to "liking nobody".  I think he likes her (only as a friend) because she giggles at his antics. 

Carlee is in Miss Julene's "Smart Little You" preschool again.  She attends with Ella and is super excited to be with Miss Julene.  Another wonderful teacher that we love and adore.

Carlee and Ella on their way to Miss Julene's

I made these cute little after school treats from Family Fun and we delivered some to our neighborhood friends to welcome everyone back to school.  The kids loved the surprise when they got home from their first day.  It's going to be a great year!

Back to School Campout

Every year on the Friday before school starts, we have a big campout at Mt. Charleston with our ward friends.  This was the first year we could go and we were excited to join in on the tradition.  Lots of families came up that evening for Dutch Oven cooking, roasting s'mores around the campfire, and talking.  Most people went home later that night but we stayed to sleep in our tents next to the Hackmans, Walkers, and half of the Shakespear and Heaton families.  Our next door campers were partying until about 3 in the morning when kind, quiet, and always the perfect gentleman, James, shocked us all and yelled at them to "Shut up!".  And they did.

The Night Crew:  McEwens and cousins, Hackmans, Tuckers, Davises, Stuarts, Heers, Swaseys, Oldhams, Walkers, Heatons, and Shakespears

The next morning we made breakfast, drank hot chocolate, and went on a small hike.  It is so fun to be outdoors and let the kids explore, get dirty, find treasures, and enjoy our beautiful world.  The air smells so fresh and clean and I love to see the sun shining through the pine trees early in the morning.  It was beautiful.  I had to steal a bunch of pictures from Whitney because I didn't take very many so here is a mixture of our pics, along with budding photographers, Carlee, Kylee, and Katelyn.

My sweetheart.  Love her so much!

 

Whitney said the sap in the cracks of the trees smelled like vanilla so of course I had to smell the crack!

James and Brandy Hackman (on left), Paul and Rex Shakespear (on right) with

Ryan and Connor Heaton (below)

Can't wait for the campout next year!

First Dental Cleaning

Carlee had her first trip to the dentist to get her teeth officially cleaned.  She has sat in the dentist's chair a few times when the other kids have had their appointments but she has only received instructions on how a dental cleaning works and a great brushing by Dr. McGee.

We convinced her that it was time to get the whole thing done before school starts.  She was really nervous but did well.  She couldn't handle half of the x-rays but made it through some even though she was "choking and couldn't breathe".

She was full of questions asking what each instrument would do, when they would use it, why it was so loud, and if it would hurt.  I had to stop myself from giggling because she was talking so much they could barely get inside her mouth!  The hygienist was very patient and I loved holding Carlee's hand while she squeezed mine.  I also got to sit by her feet and talk to her while she wore some cool shades.  What an experience!

CiCi's Pizza

We had a fun summer field trip to CiCi's Pizza when we got back into town.  The kids went back into the kitchen and got to help make their own pizza crust using oversized bags of flour, mixers, rolling presses, ovens, and cutting boards.  They had a great time and were able to top their own crusts with their favorites.  Yum!

Katelyn got to dump in some flour.  Check out that huge mixer.  Puts a Kitchen Aid to shame!

Almost ready to cook . . . Lookin' good

Monkey Zone

Thursday we headed down to Lehi to spend a couple of days with my side of the family before heading home on Saturday.  We played at Monkey Zone, went to my favorite shopping stores, ate at Chick-fil-A, stayed up late talking, played Wii, watched movies, and played football until it was so dark we couldn't see anything anymore.  Good summer fun in Utah!

 

The kids love to race each other through the obstacle courses to see who has the quickest time!

 And the boys love the video games and arcade.

Katelyn loved taking care of Braden.  He loves that OtterPop!

 Awesome tricks, flips, and poses!